Is This Just Not Working Anymore?
by halsteadswisconsin
Summary: Angsty one-shot
1. Chapter 1

**Heres a one-shot that is nothing less than sad. Please review and/or leave a one-shot request. Enjoy!**

Erin was sitting on the couch watching some trashy reality show when she heard the knob turn on the apartment door. She turned around long enough to see that it was Jay, mumbled a hello, and turned her focus back to the tv. She had guessed he said hello back but didn't pay enough attention to even be able to catch exactly what he said. Jay dropped his keys in the bowl on the kitchen table and made a quick escape into the bedroom while shutting the door. She watched him go and then mentally beat herself up for letting them become what they had.

They had been dating for months and it had been great- for the most part. It was what they both thought they had always wanted, however, in these last few weeks they seemed to just be going through the motions. It was a sad reality she knew they had to face but didn't want to be the first one to bring up that something in fact had changed between them.

Meanwhile Jay was standing over the counter in their connected bedroom and bath. His hands were on either side of the sink and he was leaning over looking at himself in the mirror. Looking, searching, for what had changed. He wasn't sure if it was himself, or Erin, or both of them. He hated that he secretly wished one of his friends invited him out for a drink so he could return home later- maybe so late that she was already asleep. No forced small talk, no cringey hellos. He hated that the girl he loved was fading further and further away and he didn't know what to do about it.

Jay rinsed his face with some water, tried his hardest to put himself back together, and walked into the kitchen. He walked passed Erin as she didn't even bother to give him a second glance. He searched through the fridge trying to find something he could make them for dinner but came up short.

"You okay with pizza for dinner?" He called out from the kitchen but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Er?" He called again. "Are you okay with pizza?"

"Yeah whatever you want is fine, Jay" Erin was already annoyed with him and she didn't even know why.

He sighed as he grabbed a takeout menu off the fridge and walked back into the bedroom, once again shutting the door but maybe this time with a little more force.

Erin let a tear fall that she was holding since Jay had first spoken to her that night. She didn't know what should be done but she knew she couldn't continue living like this. It felt like she was almost living a lie. She racked her brain thinking what could have changed. What could have changed so fast and so drastically that she didn't even bother to give her a proper hello when he entered the door?

Jay sat on the bed after he reached for his phone that was laying on the night stand. He called in their usual pizza order and lied down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling knowing sure well he didn't want to walk back out to the living room. _Go in there and sit with her? Ask her about he day?_ He thought. _That's what normal couples do._ He sighed. _And right now we are far from normal._

He lied there thinking about what went wrong when he heard the doorbell ring. He walked out of the room, grabbed his wallet out of the bowl on the table, and opened the door to greet the delivery man. He shut the door and turned around to set the pizza on the table before going to get plates for the both of them. Erin's was still on the couch and hadn't gotten up to come eat yet.

"Er, pizzas here. Why don't you come eat with me" He said as he sat down and pulled out a slice for himself.

She finally stood up for the first time that night and she could have swore she saw a small smile from Jay. "Um you know what? Im actually not that hungry. I think ill just take a shower and go to bed" she stuttered through her sentence knowing she wasn't doing anything to make their situation any better.

Jay stayed sitting and almost had a pleading tone in his voice "Erin please. Come sit down and eat with me. I haven't seen you all day".

Erin could hear the hurt in his voice. She couldn't tell if it was hurt from how they had been lately or that he knew their relationship might be coming to an end or because he really did want to have dinner with her and she was denying him the simple request. It was probably a combination of all of the above.

"Listen. I just really want to go to bed" Erin sighed like she knew it wasn't going to be the end of the conversation but she desperately wanted it to be.

Jay watched her turn her back and walk away a few steps before he got to his feet and harshly said "Is this just not working anymore?".

Erin froze, her back still towards him. He continued "Because at this point I feel like we are on a vicious loop of being unhappy with one another and thats not going to change until we talk about it".

Erin slowly turned around realizing what he was about to say. He was about to speak out loud what they had both been feeling for weeks but neither of them had the nerve to actually say it out loud. Until now.

"Something has changed and I think you know that as well as I do and Erin, I don't know what to do anymore". After this they both went silent, neither one not knowing what to say now that the truth was finally out there and couldn't be taken back. They both knew this conversation was about to go one of two ways, one option, the bad option, being the likelier of the two.

Jay used this silence to slowly walk towards Erin. They were face to face as she began to speak.

"I just feel like...I don't know" Erin whispered trying to avoid eye contact. She didn't want to open up because she knew he didn't want to hear what she was feeling.

"Talk to me" He whispered

"Er, please look at me" He tried again as he carefully brought his finger to tilt her chin up so she would have to look at him.

"Tell me this isn't over. Tell me we can salvage this. Tell me I didn't spend years of my life loving a girl that is going to leave me because we are in a rough patch" Jay cursed himself for letting a tear fall from his eye and Erin took her thumb and slowly wiped it away.

She got her thoughts together before whispering "I think...I think some couples have an expiration date...".

Jay quickly shook his head while whispering "no" over and over because he knew what she was about to say.

She continued "And I think we are expired".

"You know that's not true. We are good together and you know it." He was starting to get angry.

"Please don't make this worse than it needs to be"

"What about our one day? What about that?" He pleaded with her trying to bring up old emotions of what could have been, of what used to be.

"Our one day has come and gone and baby, it was great while it lasted but-" She tried to reason with him.

"Please don't do this" he said in an almost inaudible tone.

"It's already done. It was done the moment we didn't even say hello when you walked in the door" Erin whispered holding back tears, trying not to let them escape but failing quite miserably.

It was like Jay knew she was holding onto it and maybe thats why he didn't want to be around her. He knew that she was going to end it soon and he thought maybe if he wasn't around then it simply couldn't happen _How stupid of me_ he thought. Deep down he knew she wasn't happy but he wanted to be selfish and drag out what little time they had left together. He figured a few more bad weeks were better than no weeks at all.

He turned around and walked away only a few feet, just trying to get some space. She was still standing still. She didn't know what to do for him. She hated that he was hurt but knew it was best- thought it was best, anyways.

Jay turned around and looked back at her with a dead look in his eyes. His eyes were no longer blue but a sickly grey color.

"I guess Ill get my stuff then" He whispered and walked back into the bedroom.

He shut the door again for what seemed to be the seventh time that night and pulled out a duffle bag while pulling his clothes off hangers and stuffing them in. Jay was in there for about twenty minutes before he walked back into the living room with his bag in his hand. Erin was no where to be found (not that that surprised him). He was about to reach for the knob on the front door of the apartment when he saw a picture from the corner of his eye. It was laying in the bowl on the kitchen table so he took a couple steps and grabbed it to study it. It was a picture of him and Erin on their first date. It was taking by a Polaroid camera by a photographer that was going around the park taking couples' photos for free.

 _"Would the happy couple like their picture made?" the photographer asked them as they were sitting under a tree with a picnic for a simple first date._

 _They both looked at each other and smiled before Jay spoke up "Sure! Why not?"_

 _As the photographer focused the camera, Jay and Erin scooted closer to each other and Jay slung his arm around Erin's shoulders. They were both grinning cheek to cheek, happy than they both had been for a long time._

 _"Say cheese!" the man called out to him._

 _"Cheese!" they both sung in unison._

 _The shutter went off and they waited for the photo to print before the guy handed to them._

 _Jay tipped the man and thanked him while he took the photo and shook it to bring it to life._

 _They both looked at the photo before he offered it to Erin to keep._

 _"Oh wait hang on" Jay said snatching the picture back from her. He pulled out a pen and wrote on the back of it "To our one day" and handed it to Erin._

Suddenly Jay snapped back into reality and put the picture in his jacket pocket before walking out the door of Erin's apartment, bag in hand.

 **Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, so some of you guys didn't enjoy my one shot "Is This Just Not Working Anymore" because it ended in sort of a sad way. I said that it was just a one-shot but I feel like I owe it to the readers to fix it and end on a happy note. I cannot decide if this is going to be just a few chapters or a whole story. It all depends on the response. I will ensure that they will end up together and happy though. Also fair warning: Im not too confident in this chapter so let me know**

 **Please review. Enjoy!**

10:47pm

Jay couldn't help but let the tears escape his eyes on his drive home. Well technically he wasn't _going_ home, he was _coming_ from home. His home was the place Erin basically just kicked him out of when she broke up with him. Well she didn't kick him out exactly but it would definitely be awkward if he stayed at a place that he clearly wasn't wanted. Erin didn't want him. The realization hit him and he felt more tears burn his eyes as he stopped at a red light. He pounded the steering wheel out of angry. Or sadness. Or frustration. Whatever emotion that would encapsulate the feeling of the absolute love of his life breaking his heart would do just fine.

He wiped his eyes as the light turned green and continued on his trek to his brother's house since he didn't have anywhere else to stay for the night. Jay put the car in park and reached for his bag that was sitting in the passengers seat. He took a moment to gather himself because number one: Will didn't know that he was about to show up at his door and number two: if Will saw him crying over some girl he would never hear the end of it.

Jay walked up to Will's apartment door and knocked while thinking of his explanation for showing up at his apartment without notice.

"Brother! Hey, whats up?" Will greeted Jay when his attention was drawn to the bag that was slung over Jay's shoulder. He instantly noticed something was wrong with Jay when he didn't even smile. Also that glimmer that was usually in Jay's eyes was no longer there. It was almost if it he was made of stone unable to move.

Jay didn't show his brother much emotion but adjusted the bag over his shoulder.

"Hey um- do you think I could stay here tonight?"

Will was confused at his demeanor but shook it off and opened the door farther to allow him entry.

"Yeah sure thing" He wasn't sure if he should ask what had happened with Erin. He could only assume that it had something to do with Erin . Will knew how head over heels he was for her even thought Jay didn't talk about his emotion with his brother alot. But Will knew. Oh he knew big time. His smile when ever he brought up the idea of Erin told him all he needed to know. The smile gave him away.

"Thanks" Jay muttered as he stepped into the apartment, dropped his bag, and made a bee line for the fridge to grab a beer. Anything to dull the pain he didn't even know was possible to feel.

Will slowly walked up behind Jay in the kitchen as he chugged the beer faster than he ever had before.

He was hesitant to ask but he did anyway "Erin?" Will simply asked.

"Not tonight" Jay whispered as he swiftly walked by Will out of the kitchen while keeping his eyes glued to the floor. But then Jay stopped, his back facing Will. Something changed his mind and he felt he owed Will an explantation, an answer even, of why it was necessary he stayed there. He kept his eyes glued to the floor as he tried to keep the tears inside his eyes.

"She broke up with me" He said as he started to walk over to the couch where he was planning to sleep for the night.

With that, Will decided to leave it alone until the morning and silently went back to his room after throwing Jay a pillow and blanket from his closet.

Jay took off his jacket and lied on his brother's couch and tried to get some sleep. After all, he did have work tomorrow. Ugh work. That meant he would have to face Erin and he wasn't sure he could do that right now.

He reached for his phone in the jacket he had taken off and put it on the floor next to him. Maybe Erin texted him? Maybe she regretted the break up? That small hope made him reach for his phone even faster but as soon as the hope came to him it was gone when he saw the blank screen. Who was he kidding? He wasn't getting any sleep tonight. He was putting his phone back down on the floor when he saw the picture he had taken from Erin's apartment. The Polaroid of them on their first date. It must have fallen out of his jacket pocket when he took it off a few minutes ago. It left him wondering if there was anything more he could have done. Her words she shot at him earlier that night were running through his mind. _Some couples have an expiration date. I think we are past ours._ What was that even supposed to mean? That was her way of giving up. Anytime something got a little hard she ran for the hills. It was what she had been doing her whole life. Jay didn't really blame her for the habits she had made for herself. It was something she had to do to survive. Run. Leave. Not trust anyone.

He knew one thing and that was if he was going to he begin to think about getting over Erin (if that was possible) he had to get rid of that picture. He pulled himself off of the couch, picture still in hand and walked to the kitchen to toss it. He lifted the top of the can and threw away the picture. When he let go of it it landed back side up. The phrase that he had written on the back of the picture the day it was taken was staring up at him.

 _To our one day_

He picked it back up and for good measure or maybe it was out of angry, he ripped it into two and tossed it back into the can and shut the top.

He spent the rest of the night lying on an uncomfortable couch thinking of all the reasons why Erin might not want him anymore, all the reasons she thinks they had expired.

Will woke up fairly early the next morning because he had an early shift. He quietly walked out of his bedroom since Jay was still sleeping. He felt bad for his brother he really did. He wasn't sure what he should for him. Will walked into the kitchen to grab a water out of his fridge before he left his apartment. He chugged it faster than expected and went to toss it in the trash. He lifted the lid but noticed two pieces of a picture sitting on the top of the trash before he was able to throw his bottle in. It was the picture Jay had ripped and thrown in the trash the night before. Something tugged on Will's heartstrings because he decided to take the two pieces of the picture out and tape them together. _Man this girl really did a number on him_ he thought as he taped up the picture and put it in his room before he headed to work. _He'll thank me the day he marries her_ Will thought to himself.

/

Erin woke up the next morning not wanting to go to work, which is unlike her. She loved work. Even the tough parts about it. But she was going to have to face Jay. He was her partner and she had broken up with him. And Voight. they were going to have to tell Voight they broke up. They couldn't ask for a partner switch because that means Voight would win, he would be right. He tried to tell them at the beginning that they shouldn't mix work and pleasure but Jay and Erin were adamant that they weren't going to let it affect the job when they were dating but now they were broken up and it was a whole new ball game. They could make this work right? She was just going to have to talk to Jay and make it clear she was going to continue working with him as if they had never dated because thats what being professional means.

Erin pulled herself out of bed before her alarm even went off so she could get a head start on getting ready. Maybe she could even squeeze in breakfast this morning. She took a quick shower and threw on her basic t-shirt and jeans and headed to the kitchen to grab some cereal. While she sat on the counter and ate her breakfast she tried to convince herself even harder that it would be fine. They were Jay and Erin after all. They were the most solid partnership in the unit. Plus she still wanted to be friends with Jay. She thought they could go back to how they were before. I mean not exactly how they were before. They wouldn't hang out alone on Friday nights but they could still have small talk in the break room in the morning, and talk sports while they were out on a sting, and they would still be awesome partners.

As she finished her cereal and walked out the door, Erin was filled with a new sense of confidence that her and Jay could do this, that nothing had to change. She grabbed her keys out of the bowl on the kitchen table and noticed something was missing. She stopped and studied her surroundings for a moment. What was missing? Was it a picture maybe? _Must be nothing s_ he thought as she walked out the door to head for work.

/

Jay slowly walked up the steps to the bullpen that morning. He was more than dreading seeing Erin. He was frustrated and angry and hurt and sad and embarrassed. Unlike Erin, he knew he had to get a partner change. It didn't matter if Voight was right or not. In fact right now he could care less about Voight. He just knew he couldn't face Erin everyday.

He walked passed her desk to get to his and let out a breathe when he realized she hadn't arrived yet. Perfect. He had time to talk to Voight about a partner change before she would even know that he was doing it. But first he needed coffee.

He walked into the break room grabbing a mug from the shelf as he waited for the coffee to brew (apparently his co-workers were to lazy to get the coffee started).

As it finished brewing and he was pouring himself a cup, he heard someone walk through the doorway of the break room.

 _Crap. Erin._

"Hey" She said to him in a timid whisper like she was going to scare him if she spoke any louder.

Jay bit his lip unsure of what she was about to say.

"Hey" he leaned against the counter slowly sipping his coffee.

"Listen-" Erin started.

"I want to change partners" Jay quickly interrupted her.

Erin walked closer to him and sounded suprised "You what?"

"You heard me" He spat out.

"But why?"

Why was Erin playing dumb? Why did she think they could continue being partners? He knew she couldn't truly be this naive.

"Er, what to you want from me?" Jay pleaded in a quiet voice so the rest of the unit couldn't hear their conversation.

Erin strutted not knowing how to answer the question "I..um.. I.."

Jay continued "Because I don't know how you expect me to go on like I didn't just lose the love of my life. I can't be with you everyday and pretend like I'm not thinking about the future that slipped through my fingers tips and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to get it back in my grasp".

Erin was getting angry. He didn't even want to be partners with her anymore?

"I thought we could at least be friends" Erin whispered to him.

Jay scoffed "Friends? You think we can be friends? Er, I cannot go back to just being your friend. Do you not understand me? I want the whole thing with you or I want nothing with you. Being friends with you and seeing what I lost everyday is a lot worse than just cutting my loses and not seeing you at all. Out of sight out of mind, right?"

Erin didn't even have a response for him. She was livid. She just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as Jay pushed passed her to go back to his desk.

She poured her coffee and walked back to her desk, noticing Jay was in Voight's office talking to him with the door shut. She then made eye contact with Voight through his office window as Jay was talking to him. A few minutes later both men walked out of his office as Voight announced that Jay was partnered with Atwater and Erin was partnered with Olinsky.

Erin spent the rest of the day keeping her head down in paper work and holding back the tears that threatened to escape her eyes at the sudden realization that her and Jay may never be partners again, nevertheless friends.

 **Please review. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! So I know a few of you were confused because you couldn't see the chapter I posted last night. Long story short it screwed up when I posted it and I had to delete it and redo it. Anyways, here is the third and final chapter of the follow up of the one-shot I promised I would make end on a positive note. The way I wrote the P.O.V kind of turned out like the characters knew they were talking to an audience, like they were breaking the fourth wall sort of.**

 _(Italics are flashbacks)_

 **I hope you guys enjoy! (All c** **reds to NBC, writers, I don't own characters, etc.)**

 **Erin's P.O.V**

You know that saying "you don't know what you have until its gone"? Well these past few days I have found that to be utterly and completely true. It had been a few days since I lost- no, let him go. That was more like it. I pushed him and pushed him and for what? I feel like my world isn't whole anymore.

I realized today that I want him back. Well actually, I realized it the second he walked out of the apartment that night but I didn't have the guts to say anything until not. Tonight. Tonight I was going to tell him that I want him back.

Another thing I realized: I ended it with him because it got the tiniest bit hard and when something gets hard it usually means I have something to lose. I guess figured I'd end it before I get hurt. _Just end it now. Cut him loose while you have the chance because one, two years from now, you're going to get hurt. You were destined to get hurt._ This was my thought process the night I let him go and I couldn't have been more wrong.

You may be wondering when I had all this time to start realizing things.

Well, today was the third day in a row we have been stuck doing paperwork instead of out in the field. I was praying for a case to get my mind off everything but no luck. Jay was probably wishing for a case even more. I mean since he didn't even want to look at me. He switched partners the day after the break up but we haven't even gotten a chance to leave the pen so- ha. Jokes on him, I guess. I joke to distract myself from the pain that constantly creeps into my system.

I keep trying to make eye contact with him, each glance is a little victory in my eyes but he doesn't seem to be letting me win very often.

The shuffle of everyone gathering their things break me out of my daze. My watch reads 5pm on the dot. I'm surprised I didn't notice it earlier since I wanted to get out of there so badly. I probably wanted to subconsciously stay because I knew this is the only time I get with Jay. Even if he is forced to sit across from me. It's still time together right? _How pathetic of me_ I think.

I few minutes later I got an invite from Antonio to go to Molly's with the team but I politely declined. I think I hear Jay ask if he could take a rain check also. Apparently neither one of us was in the mood to socialize.

Besides, I had plans to show up at the place he was staying and declare my undying love for him. What could go wrong?

 **Jay's P.O.V**

She keeps staring at me. Like she is trying to get some sort of reaction from me. Believe me when I tell you that I tried my hardest not to look up at her, smile, and tell her it was okay. That everything was going to be alright. That I wanted her back. But that would have been pathetic seeing that she made it pretty clear she just wanted to be friends. That we were "passed our expiration date" as she so eloquently put it. What kind of bull? Talking about our relationship the same way you could speak of spoiled milk.

I have been in a mood that past few days. For obvious reasons. The woman, who I knew to be the love of my life, took my heart out of my chest, and stomped on it. I okayed it with Voight to switch partners but we haven't actually been able to get out of the pen. Instead we have been doing paperwork for what seemed like days on end. Oh wait. It _was_ days on end. Stupid criminals decide that now is a good time to take a break. I mean don't get me wrong- I'm all for stopping crime- but they could have at least decided to stop committing crimes when Erin and I were in our blissed out newbie couple phase. Erin must be getting a kick out of this. She didn't want me to switch partners anyway. I just want to leave and curl up on the couch and go home. Maybe I can sleep it off, this sad feeling I have been carrying around with me the passed few days. But why would it work tonight? It hasn't worked any of the past few nights. So why tonight?

My eyes are practically glued to the time on my computer screen while I watch the 4:59pm slowly roll over to the 5:00pm mark. Longest. Minute. Ever. I jump up and grab my stuff in record time while passing on an invite to Molly's.

"Uh can't tonight. Raincheck?" I say when I fast walk past Antonio's desk and down the stairs.

 _Can't._ I laughed at my excuse. It was more like "my girl dumped me and shattered my heart so I'm not feeling like talking to anyone" but unfortunately there was no way I could encompass that into a couple simple words without sounding bitter so I stick with that one word. _Can't._

But he nods his head and seems satisfied with my answer. I silently give thanks.

When I got back to my brother's apartment I decided to make myself at home by going through his DVR and ordering take out. He didn't get home for a few more hours since he had crazy hours as a doctor and all.

Somewhere between the second and third beer I chugged and I had to go to the bathroom. I walked into Will's bedroom to get to his connected bathroom since it was closer than the guest bathroom. It was weird being in his room, in fact, I don't even think I have been in here for more than a few seconds. Might as well take my time and find any secrets he's hiding, ya know? Go through the mail on his dresser and what have you (Im kidding).

On the way out of the bathroom and through his room to get back to the living room, I see a picture out of the corner of my eye.

It was my picture.

The Polaroid of Erin and I on our first date. It was tapped back together.

How did he get it? Leave it to Will to be the nosiest person you have ever met.

I studied the picture and feel a tug on the corners of my mouth as I see the genuinely happy smile on Erin's face. _What I wouldn't give to be the cause of that smile again_ I thought.

/

 _It was a rainy Saturday and Jay and Erin were spending it curled up on the couch watching movies together. They had only been dating a few weeks but they were both happier than they had ever been. They didn't have to hide their love anymore. Everyone knew. They could finally be a real couple._

 _Jay was laying down with his feet propped up on the couch with Erin next to him while she mindlessly drew circles on his t-shirt clad chest._

 _Something must have been funny in the movie because Erin let out a laugh. He wasn't paying much attention. Jay was drifting into a sleep when her laugh brought him back to reality._

 _He ran his left hand through her soft hair, fingering her dirty blonde curls._

 _"I like hearing you laugh" He whispered from above her. It soon came to be his favorite sound. The vibrations he felt against his body when she laughed a real laugh. That was his favorite thing he had ever felt._

 _Her answer was a light kiss to his chest and a tug on his t-shirt, pulling him closer to her._

 _"Oh yeah?"_

 _"Yeah"_

 _"Tell me a joke then" She turned her head so she could look at him, her head laying in his lap._

 _He continued to play with her hair as he thought of a joke to tell her. Anything for his girl._

 _"Hm let me think" He mused. She giggled at his attempt to find a joke again._

 _There it was again. That laugh that made him weak in the knees even though he was sitting down._

 _"Once upon a time" He started, looking at the television while Erin starred at him contently._

 _She was looking up at him, her head still resting in his lap. She could watch him talk forever, stare into his eyes for an eternity._

 _"Wait" She stopped him and he looked down at her._

 _"What?"_

 _"Thats the beginning of a story, not a joke"_

 _"Bare with me Er, will you?"_

 _She playfully scoffed and went along with it. He continued to tangle her hair in his fingers but this time he locked his eyes with hers._

 _"Once upon a time. There was a fool of a man who fell in love with a girl he was told he could never had. Being as stubborn as he is, he pursued her anyway. She rejected him at first, was super mean to him"._

 _Erin giggled as she realized where this was going._

 _"No, I mean like super mean. She didn't even let him drive"_

 _She let. out a loud laugh and playfully punched his arm._

 _Suddenly she got serious for a moment and kept eye contact with him._

 _His head creased as he wondered why she got serious all of a sudden._

 _"Tell me how the story ends" She whispered._

 _"Well" He began and grabbed her hand with his hand that wasn't in her hair, intertwining their fingers._

 _"She eventually fell for him too. And one day, when the time is right, he's going to ask the girl to marry him so they can be together forever"._

 _He could see the tears in her eyes._

 _She reached her thumb up to his face, rubbing his stubble covered jawline._

 _"Promise?"_

 _"Promise"_

/

 **Jay's P.O.V**

The banging on the front door broke me out of my trance. I grabbed the picture and placed it in my back pocket. What was I going to do with it? I had no idea.

The banging continued as I reached the door and opened it.

Erin.

"Eri-" I could barely get out before she stormed passed me and started frantically pacing in the living room.

"What's it going to take, Jay?! For you to forgive me I mean. I don't want to do this anymore. I- I can't do this anymore. I made a mistake. Is that was you want to hear from me? I made a mistake I want you, I _need_ you. I need you in my life because without you its like- its like".

"Erin... Erin!"

She finally stopped her stammering and yelling when I shouted her name just as loudly while placing my hands on her shoulders.

She was out of breath from her frantic outburst so I give her a second to calm down, my hands leaving her shoulders as I put them by my own sides.

"What are you saying" I simply asked, my voice back to normal now. She stares at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

"I made a mistake"

"Why? Why did you end?"

Because Jay I-"

"Yes?"

"Because I don't know Im...I"

"Spit it out, Erin" I say a little louder than I probably should have.

"Im damaged goods!" She yelled at me.

My face must have gone white because I feel like a corpse in that moment. Did she really think of herself as _damaged_? Erin Lindsay was by no means damaged. She was perfect. How could she not know that? All I knew was that I was going to make sure she knew how perfect she was before she left this apartment. She was never to feel damaged again.

I walk a step closer to her, filling the space between us. I take her face in my hands and wipe a stray tear with my thumb.

"Why on earth would you think that?"

I see her swallow a lump in there throat before speaking

"Because of where I came from. The way I grew up I was taught not to love, not to trust. And I want to love and trust you, Jay, you have to believe me. Im just not quite sure how yet. But if you give this another chance then I swear to you I will try my hardest to learn".

"Oh baby" I whisper while my hands are still holding either side of her face.

I then kiss her forehead and close my eyes while trying to come up with a way to tell her how perfect she is to me.

I pull away and grab her hand as I lead her to sit on the couch next to me. She sits down criss-cross on the couch facing me. I place my hands on both of her knees and smile while I look in her eyes.

"Do you remember when you tried setting me up with your friends?"

She shook her head slowly.

"And do you remember why you said you would never set me up again?"

She tried to force a smile "I said because you don't know a good thing when you see it".

"Well you were wrong. Because I saw you and I knew you were good. Er, you are the best thing in my life. You make my life so much better than I could ever imagine"

She smiled again but this time it was a real smile.

"And I promise I will make an effort every day to show you how good you are. You are perfect, baby. Trust me".

Then she surprised me by leaning in to kiss me. It was soft. It was good. One of my favorite kisses we have shared.

It was perfect.

Just like her.

/

She had always thought of herself as damaged goods, unfixable. But as their relationship progressed, he slowly but surely began to put her broken pieces back together. She was as complicated as a thousand piece puzzle he had spent months working on. With every kiss, every hug, every meaningful glance, each one was a piece of glue putting her broken pieces back together. He smoothed her frayed edges with his gentle touch until she was whole again

 _You were never damaged in my eyes_ he whispered.

 **Thank you for reading the story! Review if you would like?**


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